Classic & Vintage - How do you tall guys (6'4") feel about downtube shifting?

I'm restoring a 1989 Trek 420 that originally had downtube shifters. I got it with bar-ends installed and kind of like them but they need to be replaced and the extra cables are fugly. As I'm a pretty tall rider, the tube shifters are a pretty far reach for me... How do you other tall guys feel about the long reach?

I think it sucks. It might be ok on a bike that you dont shift that much. I use other shifting methods. I'm 6'3".

I'm 6'2", but with leg length out of proportion, i.e. legs more like a 6'4" person.
I could never stand that long clumsy reach down to the DT shifters.

Im a little shorter than you at around 6'1 but ride big frames (64cm) and dont mind them at all or have trouble with them . I might just be used to it, but at the end of the day the bar cons are nicer.

6'3" checking in. It depends on the bike and the placement of the shifters. Some it's a more natural reach than others. I also have pretty long arms though so that helps I guess.

I'm only 6' and I think downtube shifting is fine in the stand, only sucks when actually riding the bike.

Heck, I'm only 5'8", and I think it sucks. Actually, it's OK if one's on fairly level terrain and doesn't have to shift very often. I wouldn't ride in the mountains with DT shifters. I recently put a pair of Suntour Sprint DT shifters on a clamp and mounted them on the lower part of my stem. I love 'em. Heresy, I know.

I'm only 6' and I think downtube shifting is fine in the stand, only sucks when actually riding the bike.

no one who likes dt shifters actually ride their bikes, so that works out nicely.

no one who likes dt shifters actually ride their bikes, so that works out nicely.

Hey now, I ride my bikes! Actually though I only have experience with dt shifters and stem shifters and I find the dt shifters less cumbersome to use. I would like to try bar cons (though these still seem somewhat awkward) and brifters in the future.

Watching the listing of rider/poster heighth's so far....I'm getting a pretty good smile going. They kept getting shorter and shorter when the OP asked for tall guys :lol:

Forgive me, I digress.

Hey, I'm 5'9 and just love downtube shifters but might install barcons on the next vintage acquirement.

I ride 60cm frames and find DT shifters work well for me, and I don't have particularly long arms. When I'm on one of my bikes with STI, I find myself reaching down for the levers. I think it's just a matter of becoming familiar with a system and sticking with it.

I'm only 6' and I think downtube shifting is fine in the stand, only sucks when actually riding the bike.

Good point! Much easier to work with on the stand than STI shifters.

Stem shifters - Down Tube shifters - Bar End shifters - All CV - And now I have seen Suntour Command shifters - Its nice to see I am not the only one who gets a little flustered with his shifters - Some times I am glad I just haven't dropped the chain or jammed the wheel...

I'm 6'3", been using DT shifters off and on for 35 years. I got used to it. There's other more convenient ways to change gears, but I have no problem reaching.

with that said, I finally have a pair of Suntour bar end shifters. Just don't know what to put them on.

I'm 6'5" and have ridden road bikes with DT shifters & bar-ends. I like bar-ends, but they just don't shift as crisply as DT shifters. I have eventually moved all my bikes back to DT shifters. It is really not a big deal and once you are used to it, it is very natural.

I have DT, stem and STI shifters on my bikes. When I'm on my 27" Schwinn Voyageur it does seem like a long reach to shift and overall I find I just shift less when riding with DT shifters. STI is by far the most convenient system and since it also comes with the most gears, it is much easier to keep your cadence in a narrow range. The thing that gets me most often is trying to adjust from one bike to another. I have a few different DT shifter bikes that are quite close in throw but the stem shifters are way off and require a completely different feel. I've also found myself reaching down for non-existent shifters while riding with STI's.

I haven't tried bar-ends yet but I keep planning to (some day...). There have been times when I'm in traffic or moving fast or it's really windy and I didn't want to make the big reach to shift and wished I had bar-ends.

I'm 6'4" and have no problem with my long monkey arms reaching the shifters on my DT bikes. It's all proportional isn't it?

6'4" here, and I tend to ride the bikes with brifters or bar-ends way more. Not too fond of reaching way down to the downtube to shift, but that's because I'm old and stiff.

I like Kelly Take-Off's to put the DT shifters at your fingertips, but then I'm only 6'2.
http://www.kellybike.com/images/kelly_takeoff_photo.jpg
I know they're not the most attractive, but they do the job nicely. I just saw for the first time today where someone had posted about SunTour Command shifters and those look like they would have been even better, but not worth the $130 they're now going for on ebay. I would love to try some, but not quite that much.

I like Kelly Take-Off's to put the DT shifters at your fingertips, but then I'm only 6'2.
http://www.kellybike.com/images/kelly_takeoff_photo.jpg
I know they're not the most attractive, but they do the job nicely. I just saw for the first time today where someone had posted about SunTour Command shifters and those look like they would have been even better, but not worth the $130 they're now going for on ebay. I would love to try some, but not quite that much.

In this subculture....anything unusual is attractive. I like 'em.

I always thought that taller people's longer arms would have easily compensated for the longer reach to the shift levers on DTs........
The amount of non preference of some tall people of DT shifters might just be what we might normally encounter with other height (shorter) groups. I don't think taller people neccesarily have a harder time tieing their shoe laces.......do they??

Chombi

DTs are okay. Good ones work fine.

Barcons are significantly easier to use (plus you can keep both hands on the bars at all time, and there are times when that is a big plus).

Brifters are easest to use on the road. Period. Costly, though.

6'3" and 275# here. If DTs were all that was available, I'd use 'em and be fine (as I was for many years). But I'm a brifter guy now - they are simply the easiest to use on the road. I'd go with barcons on a fully loaded touring rig for the field-servicability, and I do have one bike with barcons. But otherwise, it's brifters all the way.

Sizing in at 6'3" and I do not want to use DT shifters again. My daily commuter has an ugly stem shifter, but I really like the placement. I've also got an inherited bike that's a bit too small for me that I'll ride around the neighborhood that has bar-end. When I get around to building my dream bike(s) it/they will have bar-end.

I like downtube shifting, but I am only 5'6" tall, I like the simplicity and how it forces me to anticipate shifts. My friend who is 6' doesn't like them because he feels the reach is too much, he likes his brifters. I can't stand brifters, like downtube but I would say my favorite are barend friction shifting.

Brifters are easest to use on the road. Period. Costly, though.

Brifters are all well and good for medium to longer rides, but by virtue of putting your hands in one comfortable position they allow you to forget to move your hands around, with the result that your hands (and therefore also arms, shoulders, and neck) get sore sooner than they would on a less comfortable setup. If you have to constantly move your hands around between the brakes and the shifters, you will postpone that soreness considerably.

Aside from that, the general fatigue that starts to set in somewhere between the 100 and 200 km milestones takes a particular toll on fingers. There comes a time on a long ride when shifting the brifters is just too painful, and you don't bother any more. Since downtube and bar end shifters use a much larger (and stronger) muscle group, they don't have that problem.

I like Suntour Command shifters, as mentioned in another thread, but they have the same disadvantages as brifters in this regard.

Brifters are all well and good for medium to longer rides, but by virtue of putting your hands in one comfortable position they allow you to forget to move your hands around, with the result that your hands (and therefore also arms, shoulders, and neck) get sore sooner than they would on a less comfortable setup. If you have to constantly move your hands around between the brakes and the shifters, you will postpone that soreness considerably.

Aside from that, the general fatigue that starts to set in somewhere between the 100 and 200 km milestones takes a particular toll on fingers. There comes a time on a long ride when shifting the brifters is just too painful, and you don't bother any more. Since downtube and bar end shifters use a much larger (and stronger) muscle group, they don't have that problem.

I like Suntour Command shifters, as mentioned in another thread, but they have the same disadvantages as brifters in this regard.

I guess in that regard the Kellys are nice because I can shift from the tops (where I have a set of cross style interupter brake levers for essentially a second cockpit setup) with my fingertips almost as easily as I can from the hoods. Not using a different muscle group, but having 2 positions on the bars where I have complete control of everything as far as shifting and braking is concerned is nice (not that I do any centuries or doubles, metric or otherwise). They are a bit hard to shift in the drops from though.

I'm 6'3", I really dislike DT shifters. I would rather have barends.

Aside from that, the general fatigue that starts to set in somewhere between the 100 and 200 km milestones takes a particular toll on fingers.

Don't you mean the 100 and 200 km kilometerstones? :lol:

I'm 6'0" but ride around a 62cm frame. Just got back into the downtube game after a 20 year hiatus and it's going to take some getting used to - missing my barcons. But that being said - I like the simplicity of it - less cables running everywhere.

Don't you mean the 100 and 200 km kilometerstones? :lol:

Ah, yes, good point, that.

Well, let me try squirming out of that by being pedantic... if the kilo- part of kilometer is Greek for a thousand, while mile is derived from the Latin word for a thousand (paces), then I suppose "milestone" could refer to any kind of stone that marks out a thousand somethings ... but then again ... oh, whatever!

I'm 6'6" and my 64cm bike has down tubes and I thought they were fine when it was my prime bike.

However, My 68cm bike has bar ends and I love them! The 68cm is now my prime bike and the 64cm is being rebuilt as my backup and it will have bar end shifters when it's done.

Aside from that, the general fatigue that starts to set in somewhere between the 100 and 200 km milestones takes a particular toll on fingers. There comes a time on a long ride when shifting the brifters is just too painful, and you don't bother any more. Since downtube and bar end shifters use a much larger (and stronger) muscle group, they don't have that problem.

I've ridden one century and plenty of 60+ milers and I've never experienced this problem with brifters or ergos. I've also done a century and lots of 60+ milers with downtube shifters, and have not really found it more difficult than brifters or ergos.

Honestly, it just becomes automatic, and I would happily use either setup for a long ride. After a certain point, I just stop thinking about it.

no one who likes dt shifters actually ride their bikes, so that works out nicely.

I am 6'1", and ride 100+ miles per week with nothing but vintage Campagnolo friction downtube shifters and have no trouble with them whatsoever. Frankly, it's what you get used to. I imagine that if I became accustomed to indexed bar-end shifting, I would say that is the only way to go, but I enjoy riding a bike that requires some level of skill to shift.

I'm 6'3", I really dislike DT shifters. I would rather have barends.

+1

I'm 6'1" and ride 60+ cm frames. I usually have 1 bike with DT shifters, 1 bike with brifters, and at least 7 with bar end shifters.

I'm 6'4" and I do not like DT shifters. In Chicago, one gear is almost enough, and three is overkill so I'm building a franken bike town bike (frankentown?) from an 88 Le Tour frame, a donor (trashed le tour of similar vintage), parts from the parts bins and the local coop and a three speed rear wheel (my first wheel build thank you!). It is surprisingly fast and light.
http://atoms.net/bike/images/bicycle/letour2.jpg
As soon as I get a rack (my LBS ordered one for me) it will be my daily rider. I'm not in any way fond of the twist shifter that came with the Sturmey Archer hub, but it beats reaching down to the down tube by a long shot.

That's a lotta cable on the shifter!

6'5" and I have one bike with bar ends. I recently scrapped the suntours for shimano indexed, love it.

Other bikes are dt, and I don't mind. My "fast" bike is dt friction, and I have no problem logging miles.

I've ridden one century and plenty of 60+ milers and I've never experienced this problem with brifters or ergos.

No, no..... you're doing it wrong. They're more comfortable, so that makes them less desirable. :)

No, no..... you're doing it wrong. They're more comfortable, so that makes them less desirable. :)

You're quoting me out of context. :P I don't find either easier or more comfortable. DT shifters don't make my fingertips bleed or cause my shoulders to dislocate when I reach down. Both DT shifters and ergos seem to do what they're designed to do: shift gears.

6' 2" - I like DTs just fine if that's what I'm riding. I like that I can shift either lever with one hand.

6'4" and love DT shifters. every shift i make is deliberate.

of course, if you are running north road bars or something they probably aren't a good match.

I didn't have a problem with DT shifters on my older bikes but I really like my brifters. I don't like the cost of the brifters. I have bar ends on my TT bike but I seem to like bar end shifters but I haven't used these very much.

6'2" weighing in here.

I've got both. I find that when I'm riding my bikes with DT shifters I get used to them all over again (as I have for thirty years) and it's all natural. When I spend a few days with bar ends, I get used to them; the switch back to DT feels weird at first, but then the cycle starts all over again. I will say that some DT shifters are just unfortunately placed, but for the most part they're fine. I can see how taller bikes might have badly positioned shifters though.

6' 2" - I like DTs just fine if that's what I'm riding. I like that I can shift either lever with one hand.:thumb:


6'4" and love DT shifters. every shift i make is deliberate.

of course, if you are running north road bars or something they probably aren't a good match:thumb:.


6'2" weighing in here.

I've got both. I find that when I'm riding my bikes with DT shifters I get used to them all over again (as I have for thirty years) and it's all natural. When I spend a few days with bar ends, I get used to them; the switch back to DT feels weird at first, but then the cycle starts all over again. I will say that some DT shifters are just unfortunately placed, but for the most part they're fine. I can see how taller bikes might have badly positioned shifters though.

6'2" and I genuinely think that your position on the bike, the length of your arms,
and your overall coordination has more to do with this than your height.

Sketch it out roughly for yourself if you do not believe me.

That said, HTFU or buy some brifters and join the rest of the brifter trash
that use them and would not have it any other way. :D

You can have clean and simple, or you can have convenient and
"I never have to take my hands off the brakes...which frightens me."

So far, you can't have both.

I'm restoring a 1989 Trek 420 that originally had downtube shifters. I got it with bar-ends installed and kind of like them but they need to be replaced and the extra cables are fugly. As I'm a pretty tall rider, the tube shifters are a pretty far reach for me... How do you other tall guys feel about the long reach?

Only speaking for myself, I love the downtube shifters, and I am 6"3'. All my bikes in my signature are all 60 to 63cm, and they all have downtube shifter except the 1996 Classic. Not only that, the downtube shifters look cool. There is no SUBSITUTE for COOL!! ;)

. . . but by virtue of putting your hands in one comfortable position [brifters] allow you to forget to move your hands around, with the result that your hands (and therefore also arms, shoulders, and neck) get sore sooner than they would on a less comfortable setup. If you have to constantly move your hands around between the brakes and the shifters, you will postpone that soreness considerably.

. . . .



Uh, I politely disagree. If you don't train yourself to move your hands, you will have some variation of the "numb hands" syndrome. Folks were talking about "numb hands," its short-term discomfort and its potential for long-term harm, the need to move hands around, and the like, long before brifters were a gleam in anyone's eye or the phrases "carpal tunnel syndrome" or "repetitive stress injury" had ever been uttered. The problem is as old as cycling and the solutions are about a day less old - move your hands around on the bars regularly (being able to do this is one of the main reasons drop bars came to be and have remained popular), wear padded gloves, shake your hands out every so often.

Brifters are not about being able to have your hands on the brakes all the time - they are about having shifters easily accessible and not having to take your hands off the bars to shift. And as I said before, there are times when being able to shift without having to take a hand off the bars is a very good thing. Barcons are only slightly less effective at allowing this, but enough to be noticeable.

With slick cables and housings you can route barcon cables through or around the bars under the tape. I'm 6'1" and don't mind DT shifters at all. Both of my classics have them.

6'3" here.

My visual-motoric control (or something along those lines) is rather slow and painfully uncoordinated. I was the kid that never could get a hang on skate boarding or, horror, team sports involving the precise placement of slippery balls using either hands or feet. As such I feel a crash is imminent each time I prepare to let go of the bars and fumble around for those little levers way down there on my typical 63-64 cm frame.

So, if it's friction it's bar-ends. Index means Ergo levers.

I'm not tall, only 5 foot 9-1/2 (176 cm). My beater bike has downtube shifters, and just today, I was thinking I'll retire them. I can use them fine, but it's slow for me to reach down and get the gear I want, and I'm going to replace them with something closer to my hands. Enough. I'll be done with downtube shifters.

4'7" 350lbs+ here. Down tube shifters get in the way of my bento bag, which holds 31 soft tacos. I don't like em.

I'm six-one or two or something (I don't care anymore. I was once six-four, which was a lie promulgated for athletic reasons by unscrupulous higher ups). I have long legs and wingspan, both of which belong on someone taller, and I love downtube shifters, as long as they're Simplex retrofrictions. Campy sucks eggs. I don't mind brifters that much, but retrofrictions truly kick !@#$.

On a related note, it would be nice if the autocensor made naughty words look like !@#$ instead of the dull, pedestrian ***** currently in use. To whom do I direct my suggestion?

4'7" 350lbs+ here. Down tube shifters get in the way of my bento bag, which holds 31 soft tacos. I don't like em.

Bwahahaha! I'm 6'4", 310 lbs here and have stem mounted shifters on my huge Raleigh SGP and kind of like them as long as my knees stay away from them; on the other hand, my Raleigh Kodiak (~same size) has DT and it is quite a stretch and I don't like that either. I'd love to get my hands on some bar-ends to try out so I can answer the rest of the OP's question.